Cape emergency rooms on the fast track

Jen Ouellette

Wednesday

May 28, 2008 at 12:01 AMMay 28, 2008 at 3:29 AM

With upwards of 126,000 people annually crossing through the emergency room doors at Cape Cod Hospital and Falmouth Hospital, hospital officials have turned to new technology to help manage the situation.

With upwards of 126,000 people annually crossing through the emergency room doors at Cape Cod Hospital and Falmouth Hospital, hospital officials have turned to new technology to help manage the situation.

Cape Cod Healthcare recently introduced ED PulseCheck software at both Cape Cod and Falmouth hospitals. The new patient tracking system eliminates the middleman in many routine hospital transactions, including physician orders for tests, prescriptions and follow-up.

Now doctors enter information into the ED PulseCheck system such as a request for an EKG or blood test – called a computerized provider order entry (CPOE). That order will then go directly to the person who will perform the test.

“The biggest drive behind this was the physician order piece,” said Debra Robinson, director of emergency services for Cape Cod Hospital. “It’s a safety issue.”

Once the test is completed, the results are compiled in an electronic report that serves as the “chart” doctors and nurses are so often seen carrying around the hospital.

The computer program also provides real-time data on such things as how many people are in the emergency room, how many are in the waiting room and how many people are assigned to each doctor on duty.

“With the volume we see the real-time data is key,” said Robinson, adding that the system provides for crosschecks on patient medications and allergies.

Robinson said since April 8, when the new system was implemented at Cape Cod Hospital, they have seen more than 9,000 patients.

“The patient response to this has been very favorable. The impression has been that we’re up with the times,” Robinson said.

Of course, as with any new venture, it isn’t always an easy transition.

“ER nurses are by nature very flexible. They’ve put great effort into making this successful,” Robinson said.

“We expected there to be bumps and we have had some bumps, but nothing that has affected patients,” she added. “It makes you very aware of bottlenecks. Then you can direct your resources there.”

One such bottleneck is in triage – when patients enter the emergency room and staff gathers important medical history information from the patient.

“We gather a lot of information when you come in. We sort of had to reprogram our brains to collect that in a different way. I see their speed and efficiency improving every day,” said Robinson.

It was important for the hospital to implement the program prior to Memorial Day weekend because that is when patient volume starts to escalate.

“July and August, the Cape Cod Hospital emergency room is the busiest in the state,” said Van Northcross, regional marketing director for Cape Cod Healthcare.

“It usually comes out to one patient every three minutes for two or three days. It’s just a human tide that comes through here,” he said.